And this was precisely one of the reasons for Shi Chun's hesitation: he was trying to figure out how to send Zhener off by herself, after all, he had previously promised to help her remove the restraints and free her.

"Uhh..." Wu Jinliang was somewhat choked up. He dared not venture into the lair of the old monster together with her, asking suspiciously, "Even you need to figure out a way to negotiate with the guards, how could they possibly let us in?"

Zhener: "There's one method we can try."

Naturally, Wu Jinliang asked, "What method?"

Zhener: "A marriage proposal."

"What?"

"Huh?"

Wu Jinliang and Shi Chun simultaneously made strange noises.

Then Wu Jinliang asked again, "A marriage proposal? What marriage proposal?"

Zhener looked at Shi Chun with hopeful eyes, "Propose to the Tower Master, to marry me."

It seemed the two brothers understood that this might have something to do with a certain someone. Wu Jinliang turned his head to look at Shi Chun, pointing at him and said, "He's going to propose?"

Shi Chun felt this was nonsense and asked as well, "And who is the Tower Master?"

Both asked at the same time, and Zhener didn't hesitate to answer Shi Chun's question first, "The big boss of the tower."

Seeing the brothers both looking puzzled, she went on to explain, "The tower has nine levels, and each level has a guard who is imprisoned, all of which were formidable Fire Spirits in the past. Before humans came, they had no names, but after they were imprisoned in the tower, they were named from 'one' to 'nine' by 'Chen'; 'one' is the big boss and also the most powerful existence inside the tower.

After I turned into a human form, the big boss showed up to see me. In conversation, he mentioned the affairs of men and women in the outside world. We all heard about it from 'Su'. We heard that in the outside world, before a woman goes with a man, the man has to go to the woman's family to propose.

The big boss was also curious about this custom and wanted to experience it. He told me that if I ever met a man who liked me, the Earth Heart Tower could be considered my natal home and he could be brought back to propose, to give him a glimpse of what a proposal entails."

She then stopped talking.

To speak so much in one breath was quite a feat; it was at least much more coherent than when she started, although her speech still had a contemplative and deliberate air.

The two brothers stared at her dumbly, waiting for her to continue.

Realizing that she had finished, Wu Jinliang asked, "And then?"

Zhener looked at him, puzzled.

Wu Jinliang quickly changed his phrasing, "I mean, what happens after the proposal? Didn't the big boss say what to do next?"

Zhener shook her head, "No, he didn't say anything else after that; he just left."

The brothers were speechless together.

Wu Jinliang dry swallowed and asked another question, "Zhener, what's the big boss's temper like..." he started to say, and then rephrased, "Has he ever killed any outsiders who intruded?"

Zhener nodded, "A long time ago he killed many, but later the intruders became less powerful, and it was unnecessary for him to act; others took care of them."

Wu Jinliang asked again, "So, is the big boss on good terms with you?"

Zhener shook her head slightly, "He rarely shows himself; we haven't had much direct contact or spoken much. The marriage proposal was the most he ever said to me."

Wu Jinliang's cheeks twitched as he asked, "Then how are your relations with the other eight bosses?"

Zhener: "Not much to speak of; we rarely interact. It was 'Chen' and his group that imprisoned them. I'm on good terms with 'Su', but they don't like me. However, the big boss was better. After 'Su' died and they gave me trouble, it was the big boss who said let it be, and then they backed off."

"Alright, that's quite good, hehehehe." Wu Jinliang chuckled again, first giving the dumbfounded Shi Chun a few chuckles and then looking up at the night sky and continuing his endless laughter.

Shi Chun gave Zhener an expressive look. If this woman hadn't lacked ancestors, he really would have wanted to thank her eighteen generations. Could such a proposal even be made? Was this something a person could actually propose?

And what to do after proposing? What happens after they've enjoyed the show?

The problem was that once he went, there'd be no chance for second thoughts, not even a sliver of hope for escape. This wasn't a marriage proposal; it was a ticket to the grave.

No, the key point was how could the woman even suggest such a thing.

He really wanted to ask why she hadn't told Situ Gu to propose back then but then reconsidered, realizing the big boss's suggestion to propose occurred after Zhener had taken human form, and Situ Gu couldn't possibly propose to a non-human form, a mere fireball.

He swallowed the words he was about to say. Anyway, going to propose was out of the question. How could he suggest marrying without any chance of survival?

It wasn't an adventure; it was a death wish. If he could trick Zhener into going to the tower to retrieve something, so be it. Otherwise, missing out on this fortune was just as well; there was no way he was going.

Having set that definition, he changed the subject, "Let's not speak too soon, we've just escaped. Let's wait until things stabilize before discussing it."

Wu Jinliang chuckled twice, understanding Chun Tian's difficulties and did not insist on seeking fortune this time.

Thus, the three of them emerged once more from a secluded spot, which attracted the attention of others looking back.

Zhener had put on women's clothing, while Shi Chun had donned Zhener's garments; not to mention it took so long to change clothes that Chu Jingtang, stroking his beard, couldn't help but chuckle.

The others from the Mingshan Sect also laughed with profound meaning, except for Zhu Xiangxin, who pretended not to understand and remained nonchalant—women ought to appear reserved.

Many at Shudao Mountain were smirking as well, but Yuan Yao and Pang Hou both turned to look at Gu Lianni immediately, as expected, and the latter had the appearance of having a stuffed nose; then, the two shared a covert glance.

Shi Chun didn't rush to meet them but first used his superpower to scan the surroundings from a high position. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary and that the Shudao Mountain scouts around the perimeter were still present, he moved back down.

After such a long escape, everyone indeed needed to rest and recover.

Little did they know, on a distant mountaintop, a pair of dark red, glowing eyes were fixed on their hiding place—it was Wu Shanshan, who had used the "Demon Eye" to scout their location and had located their target.

That's right, although Shi Chun's superpower in his right eye hadn't detected the people from Forget Love Valley, Wu Shanshan's "Demon Eye" had managed to find their location.

It could only be said that the superpowers of their eyes had different strengths. The flaw in Shi Chun's right eye's superpower was that it couldn't see too far; if colors overlapped too heavily, he couldn't see what was behind the dense colors.

Furthermore, with people placed around the perimeter by Shudao Mountain, Wu Shanshan didn't approach their scouts before the main forces arrived, to avoid startling them.

After all, who knew what strange things might be hidden in this cursed place, and causing a stir would mean trouble.

Therefore, the distance was too great, and that's why Shi Chun's right eye superpower failed to detect them in time.

At the moment, Wu Shanshan was not worried about whether Shi Chun's group would run away; instead, she was more cautious about the two people lurking not far behind on her own side.

On the journey, her Demon Eye had detected two people tailing them, their intentions unknown.

Not wanting to alert Shi Chun and his group, she had not dared to act rashly and decided to wait for the arrival of the main troop.

Soon enough, Lin Yuefang, without his nose, arrived with Jin Hao and the members of the Extreme Fire Sect, quietly taking their positions beside Wu Shanshan's group.

Lin Yuefang had brought these people, who had been called back halfway, mainly fearing that the noise from the arrival of the main forces of the Extreme Fire Sect might scare away the target.

Not far away, Xu Anzhang and Youu Mu exchanged glances, with the latter whispering, "It's the Extreme Fire Sect's forces. Not good, Shi Chun and his group might be resting just ahead."

Previously, the two had been puzzled about why the group from Forget Love Valley had suddenly stopped, but now, seeing this situation, they immediately became suspicious.

Xu Anzhang said in a solemn voice, "I'll keep watch here. You go around and check. If they are indeed there, we need to send a message to Shi Chun and his group right away."

"Okay," Youu Mu quickly crouched and retreated to circle around.

Wu Shanshan's Demon Eye did not detect this exchange because, to avoid showing the Extreme Fire Sect's forces her abnormal eyes, she had promptly withdrawn the Demon Eye's power.

Upon meeting, Yin Tianlu nodded to Wu Shanshan and asked in a low voice, "How is it?"

Wu Shanshan surveyed the people behind him and was shocked to see only so few. She asked, "Didn't all your people come?"

Yin Tianlu glanced at the number of people from Forget Love Valley and said indifferently, "You're overthinking it. The situation with the bizarre bats was too sudden. Just like with your group, the rest are all here."

Wu Shanshan's brow furrowed, hesitatingly she said, "With the people from Shudao Mountain and the Mingshan Sect combined, there must be around forty. We don't have much of an advantage in numbers; surrounding them might be difficult."

Yin Tianlu was aware they had made a blunder in terms of numbers and strength. He soothed, "The people from the Mingshan Sect are nothing to worry about; the main issue is with those from Shudao Mountain. We shouldn't be hasty to act without full confidence. The strategy is to encircle them first and not to alarm them if possible. I've already sent a message to people from other sects. It's not too late to make a move once we have an absolute advantage. If they attempt to flee now, we'll try to detain them. If we can succeed, we'll take them down in one fell swoop; if not, we'll hold them off until reinforcements from all sides arrive."

To think he had actually sent a message to people from other sects, Wu Shanshan's gaze flickered, sensing that he was not that committed to capturing the Divine Fire.

Seeing her reaction, Yin Tianlu added, "Of course, if you have any absolute method, it's also fine to take action directly."

Wu Shanshan wasn't particularly interested in capturing the Divine Fire either; she was just putting on a show and didn't want to risk her life, so she nodded and said, "If that's the case, then let's do as Brother Yin suggests."

Yin Tianlu said, "I've already sworn a poison oath; what about you?"

Wu Shanshan looked at Jin Hao, who nodded in agreement. She then took the oath, "I swear the same oath as Brother Yin!"

"..." Yin Tianlu was at a loss for words but said nothing more.

Wu Shanshan also pointed towards the hiding spot of Xu Anzhang, "Over there two people are hiding. They followed us all the way here, but I don't know who they are. However, I guess they're also after the Divine Fire, looking to scavenge. Just tell your people to be careful; there's no need to alarm them. First, quickly get a perimeter around that spot under the mountain." She indicated the direction.

There was no time to waste; they immediately started to enclose the area.

However, due to the lack of sufficient forces and knowing that Shudao Mountain had scattered scouts on the perimeter, they couldn't afford a wide encirclement. Under the personal guidance of Wu Shanshan, the forces moved quietly through the gaps between the scouts and then began to surround the core.

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